FEATURE HOW TO THRIVE
Just as with any other organisational function in any industry, facilities management – whether outsourced or internal - is not without challenges, says James Scott, CEO of
Thrive.App, as he talks us through some ways of easing the burdens.
One in 10 UK workers are in the facilities management sector, and the industry accounts for 7% of UK GDP. However, workers within this sector have likely felt the pinch of one or all of the following: controlling costs; staff shortages; increasing labour costs; coordinating rotas; and others.
Having to integrate people with place and make sure everything operates as it should to ensure optimal productivity of the core business is the tall order fulfilled daily by those in facilities management.
Despite the challenges within the sector, there are ways that facilities managers can work to relieve the pressure and improve everyday processes, through the use of technology.
Balancing the costs Being asked to do more with less is an all-too-common challenge and facilities management are often expected to improve quality with less staff, less budget, and less time.
Senior leadership can have a hard time understanding the high operating and capital costs of essential facility management functions, such as operations and maintenance, which means internal facility managers have to educate up, while keeping abreast of everything they are responsible for.
Increasing labour costs also add to the tricky budgeting problem. As a result of the Living Wage movement, which found that 17.1% of jobs pay less than the living wage, many companies are adopting higher wages for low- skilled workers, such as FM workers.
Technology can help to provide essential training materials for remote and hybrid workforces whether as part of new employee onboarding or training employees about new processes and procedures. Employees who feel supported with ongoing training are more likely to stick around and are more efficient in their work, which can help ease cost burdens.
Increased demand but reduction of staff Being short-staffed has been an issue since long before the pandemic which has a lot to do with the vast reduction in the pool of foreign nationals coming to work in the UK, willing to perform low-skilled jobs.
This year alone, demand for FM services has surged across most sectors. Part of that is a result of companies bringing workers back to the office, increasing headcount, and shifting working patterns that involve hybrid environments.
Whether it’s training employees on new processes, or offering features that lift morale, there are a lot of ways
50 | TOMORROW’S FM
that an organisation can use technology to help ease the pressures brought on by these particular challenges.
Beyond the day-to-day, technology can form a vital part of an employee recognition programme by empowering employees to recognise each other’s accomplishments and even send virtual high fives.
Increasing employee happiness and
engagement Despite its efforts to keep the shine on all it manages, facilities management has been given a tarnished reputation partly because of some provider billing and reporting practices that led to widespread mistrust. For workers in the industry who are already paid less, this stigma can be quite demotivating.
“Employees who feel supported with ongoing training are more likely to stick around and are more efficient in their work, which can help ease cost burdens.”
FM can also feel like a very impersonal sector to be in; one where employees work hard behind the scenes but don’t necessarily feel seen or recognised.
Employee engagement tools can be used to spread messages of appreciation and support from customers who leave feedback, for example, and colleagues who want to show appreciation and give thanks to others in the workplace.
Health and safety compliance Owing to the nature of the work, FM can be full of hazards and injuries which presents an ongoing challenge. Safety can especially be compromised if employees are overwhelmed and overworked, which is often the case with understaffed teams and the increasing demand for services.
And then there are challenges presented by constantly changing regulatory and compliance standards - all of which leave little room for error.
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